


At last, she was alone

by zwobbly



Series: k/da shorts [3]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: ahri is old af, evelynn is also old af, thats really all I have to say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28706652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zwobbly/pseuds/zwobbly
Summary: Ahri receives a letter from her tribe of gumiho, the ones she left behind years ago to travel the word. What's inside changes her life forever.
Series: k/da shorts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061663
Kudos: 10





	At last, she was alone

**Author's Note:**

> This isn’t really kda but i put it in the kda shorts series simply because its in the same timeline… or universe or whatever. Like this was long before kda, but its not technically kda.  
> Anyways, i recommend you read the notes at the end so you understand some things more… you dont have to but if youre confused by anything you should read them :))

The city was bustling with life. With the uncommon warm sunny weather, more people were out on the streets talking and shopping than there normally were. Ahri, who also wanted to indulge in the nice weather, followed the winding cobblestone walkways towards the markets with a wicker basket hanging from her arm. 

As the smell of fish became almost overwhelming, Ahri knew she was getting close. She smiled politely to the familiar faces of the townspeople she passed, even offering a small wave to those she talked to often. 

“Fresh fruits and vegetables! Get ‘em here!” Someone called from afar. The gumiho’s smile widened at the thought of some fresh fruit, but that would have to wait. The butcher stand to her right seemed _far_ more appealing at the moment. 

“Good day, miss,” The man running the shop greeted. His face was warm and friendly, a noticeable contrast to his tired eyes. “What can I do for ya’?” Ahri smiled brightly, browsing the options displayed in front of her. 

“Just 250 grams of this will do,” She points towards a cut of beef on the wooden stand. She knew it would be somewhat expensive, but she figured it would be alright to splurge once in a while. She did have the money to afford it, after all. The man smiled at her, cutting and weighing the meat. He wraps it in parchment paper first, and then again in regular paper before handing it to Ahri. 

She hands the man the money owed and says a small ‘thank you’ before leaving. With the meat now securely in her basket, she could look around a bit longer before heading home. 

The fox spotted a pottery stand nearby with an assortment of bowls and dishes. They caught her eye, and she figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick look.

“Excuse me!” Ahri turned to the frantic voice out of alarm, but she quickly realized the man shouting was coming towards her. “Excuse me, miss!” The man called again, pushing his way through the crowd. 

“Sir…” She trailed off, not knowing who the man was or how to respond to him. 

“It must be you,” He says, out of breath. In his hand he holds a letter, neatly tucked into an envelope. The man grabs Ahri’s empty hand and places the envelope into her palm. Her eyes widen upon seeing the symbol on the wax seal. 

“How did you get this?” She demands, looking back up at the man. She starts to pull him away towards a less crowded area, and he follows, eyes still wide. 

“I-” He stumbles on his words. The man takes a breath quickly before starting again. “The other day, a strange woman came to me and gave me this letter,” He starts, Ahri nods along, showing that she’s listening. “She… she told me to find a beautiful young woman with raven hair and eyes of pure gold. She said that… that you would know what it is.” 

“I do…” The gumiho mumbled. But his story was odd. The fox furrowed her brows. She tried to imagine why someone would have given this man the letter instead of coming to her themselves. 

“What did they look like,” Ahri asks, curiosity getting the best of her. “Do you remember?” 

“No…” He looks down at the ground briefly. “Well, I remember some, but not clearly,” He adds. With a nod of her head, she urges him to continue. “They had black hair as well,” He places a finger on his chin. “They were very pretty too, in the same way that you are.” 

Ahri didn’t quite understand his words. She figured he was referring to her origins, and how she didn’t look like the people here, but she couldn’t be sure. He seemed to be lost in thought, and Ahri decided not to ask anymore questions. 

“Thank you for this, sir,” She smiled as she let go of his calloused hand. With a tip of his hat, he turns away. Ahri places the letter into her basket, alongside the meat she bought and some flowers she had picked earlier. 

With quick steps, Ahri makes her way to her house. It wasn’t a far walk, but it was enough to leave her slightly winded by the time she reached her destination. Nearly throwing the basket on the dining table, she grabs the letter and quickly opens it. 

Inside is a neatly folded piece of paper, with her native language hastily scribbled down on it. It wasn’t neat or structured and it looked more like a note than a letter, but Ahri paid no mind. 

After she left her home almost six hundred years ago, she didn’t expect to hear from them unless she went back. She had traveled so far from them that she didn’t understand why or _how_ they would have gotten this to her. But she didn’t linger on those thoughts for long. She needed to know what was in the letter. 

_Ahri, our beloved kit, I am writing this letter to warn you, and to inform you of what has become of us. The soldiers found our tribe. Very few of us, myself included, escaped and are now in hiding. The rest were killed. I’ll spare you the details that still haunt my mind, but they showed no mercy. Please, kit, be wary. Live on in our honor._

The letter slipped from Ahri’s quivering hands, hitting the floor silently. She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, nor did she notice when tears started to stream down her cheeks. Her family was dead. The ones who raised her, played with her, taught her how to use her magic 

They were _dead_. 

Her actions now controlled solely by adrenaline and shock, she picked the letter up off the floor and ran out of her house, barey shutting the door behind her. Without thinking, her feet took her to the only place she knew she could safely talk about this. 

She ran down the cobbled streets, earning various looks from the people she passed, until she was at the front door of a familiar house. Knowing the door wouldn’t be locked, she slammed it open and ran in, much to the surprise of the person inside. 

“Ahri?” 

“Evelynn,” The fox walked up to the demon, her friend of a hundred years, with red blotchy cheeks and tears still running down her face. She tried to speak, but her words were drowned out by her tears. Evelynn wrapped her arms around the gumiho, holding her close to her chest. 

“Take your time, love,” Evelynn shushed, her usual sass and attitude gone. Ahri took a few deep breaths and pulled away to show Evelynn the letter in her hand. Ahri couldn’t bring herself to speak, but Evelynn understood what the fox was asking. 

As the demon read the letter, Ahri crumbled into a heap of despair on the floor. She couldn’t bear it. She felt guilty for leaving. She lived when so many others didn’t. If she hadn't left, she wouldn’t have to find out with a letter. It was too late to help. 

Now she had lost everything twice. She didn’t remember much, but as a pup she was alone, wandering the woods for god knows how long with a skulk of foxes. It wasn’t until another gumiho found her and took her in that she found others like her.They knew magic and preyed on humans like her, and even though she was different, they taught her everything they knew. She may not have truly been a part of their tribe, but they treated her no differently. And now she’s lost them, too. 

“Oh, honey,” Evelynn finally spoke. She bent down to meet Ahri’s watery gaze and placed the letter back into her hands. Evelynn was at a loss for words. She was never the best at comforting people, and she _definitely_ didn’t know how to console someone who had just lost their entire family. 

“What am I supposed to do now…?” Ahri whimpered, staring down at the letter in her hands. Evelynn brushed her thumb against Ahri’s wet cheek. 

“Stand up, darling,” She says. Her words weren’t harsh or demanding, but still said with enough force to make Ahri listen. She stands, brushing off her skirts with her gaze still fixated on the floor. “What do you want to do?” Evelynn asks. 

Ahri shakes her head. “I’m not sure,” She mumbles. Truthfully, all she wanted to do in that moment was lay down and cry. But she was sure Evelynn wouldn’t allow her to do that. Evelynn was strong, stronger than Ahri. She didn’t let anything get to her. She had no family to lose, either. Evelynn was different from Ahri, and sometimes the demon couldn’t understand her feelings. 

“We can kill them all,” Evelynn suggests, placing a hand on Ahri’s shoulder. “The soldiers,” 

Alarmed, Ahri whips her head up to look at Evelynn. “No,” Her eyebrows furrow slightly. “We can’t just kill whoever we want. The world doesn’t work like that anymore.”

“Why not?” Evelynn challenges, her perfect brow raised. “They clearly have no regard for ‘how the world works’” Evelynn mocks Ahri’s words. The subtle reminder of the horrible things the soldiers must have done to her tribe nearly made her break down again. Ahri shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“No,” She says, leaning her head on Evelynn’s chest. “We can’t be like them,” Evelynn stays quiet for a moment, unhappy with the fox’s response. After a minute of Evelynn rubbing circles into her back, Ahri’s eyes widened. “ _They’re going to kill me, Eve._ ” The demon hesitates before responding.

“They won’t,” She states firmly. 

“They’re going to kill me,” Ahri repeats, her hands shaking. “If they find out they’ll kill me.” 

“I won’t let them, Ahri.” Evelynn replies, lifting Ahri’s face up to her own. Ahri felt Evelynn’s nails poking her the skin on her jaw. Not enough to hurt, but enough to be forceful. “They will have to go through me before they even get _near_ you,”

Ahri didn’t respond. She knew of Evelynn’s protective nature, and she believed her wholeheartedly. But the ever looming thought of death didn’t leave Ahri’s mind. She simply stood in Evelynn’s living room for a while, comforted by the demon’s embrace. 

“Can we move again, Evelynn,” Ahri mumbled, not lifting her head off of the demon’s chest. “ _Somebody_ knows of my whereabouts. I don’t want to stay here anymore.” 

Evelynn hums, running her hands gently along the fox’s back. Ahri didn’t know _who_ gave that man the letter and why they didn’t come to her themselves. Perhaps she has been here too long. She never lingered anywhere for longer than a few years, but she liked the cool weather and salty air from the port of Le Havre. She decided she’d have to travel somewhere by the ocean. 

“Where?” Evelynn . 

“By the water somewhere,” Ahri answers, nuzzling her nose into the smooth silk of the demon’s bodice. Ahri never understood why Evelynn liked to spend so much on her clothes. She always assumed Evelynn liked showing her superiority over everyone else. “I like it.”

“The water it is, then,” 

~~~

They packed their things in a day, and left the next. They left without any goodbyes, not leaving a trace. They traveled south to Italy, on horseback and sometimes on foot. They rented buggies on the days when the weather was unfavorable. 

Ahri liked Italy. It was warm, sunny, full of bright colors and exquisite art and sculptures. It was everything Evelynn didn’t enjoy. After much coaxing, they moved after six years. 

When a new century was just around the corner, they moved again. Through the mountains of Austria, then to what Evelynn referred to as her ‘hometown’ in Germany. They both knew it wasn’t really her hometown, but she liked it enough to visit from time to time. By the end of the century, they were back in France, watching the economy fall to the ground.

After moving to the industrial powerhouse at the time, Ahri fell in love with the romanization of literature and art. There, she learned English for the first time, with some much needed assistance from Evelynn. 

Slowly, as Ahri traveled throughout the world, she felt the presence of her kind fade. It was slow to dissipate, but Ahri felt it. Trying to ignore it, the fox indulged herself anything that would keep her attention. 

After the city of Londen fell to disease, they left for the Americas, mostly to avoid the inevitable ‘witch’ title since they would be among the few survivors. Ahri felt further from her roots with each passing year, but she didn’t mind. Most of her wanted to forget. To hide what she was and pretend to be human. 

Evelynn never let her. 

By the time Ahri agreed to move back to the East, she felt the heart wrenching absence of the magic she used to feel. The land that once breathed the magic of her kind through it’s very core was now desolate. She never visited her old tribe, or what might have been left of it. She didn’t have to see it to know her worst fears were true.

_She was the only one left._

**Author's Note:**

> i know this may have been slightly confusing because i mentioned many places that exist on earth. Heres my reason for that; since kda exists in _our _world, and not the world of runeterra, it makes sense for them to exist on our planet. But obviously we dont have demons or gumiho on earth (probably). I tried to incorporate things from runeterra into our existing world. Like magic, the void, gumiho, and demons are all from the runeterra universe, but incorporated into our existing world. I hope this cleared things up if you were confused or anything.__  
>  Other than that i hope you enjoyed me projecting my sadness onto ahri yet again. Expect more pain in the future. Our beloved fox is my favorite victim ;)


End file.
